Earth Flame Palace Devil Disciple

After packing up his things, Zhao Sheng suddenly stepped forward, glowering at Han Xuanwu as he roared, "Fine, fine! Running into you today is just my damned bad luck! Can't I just leave? If you've got the guts, come after me!"

With that, heedless of the strange looks from the others, he strode swiftly toward the outside.

"Old Thief Gongsun, wait! It won't be too late to leave after we finish exchanging the jade pendants!" Lu Dayou suddenly shouted at Zhao Sheng.

Yet Zhao Sheng seemed not to hear him. Innate True Qi erupted from the Gushing Spring Acupoint on the soles of his feet, and his figure flashed as he leaped into the darkness in a single step.

But in the next instant, he was sent flying back in a most bedraggled state, his face turning exceptionally ugly.

By then, some sharp-witted Herb Gatherers had already sensed that something was wrong.

The surroundings swiftly fell silent. At that moment, the Purple Sun Sect disciple abruptly rose to his feet and asked Zhao Sheng, "What happened?"

Zhao Sheng glanced at him and said coldly, "Someone has set up a Barrier Formation outside. We can't get out."

"Hiss!"

The sight of dozens of people sucking in a breath of cold air at once was quite spectacular.

This is bad!

The same thought suddenly sprang into everyone's minds.

Zhao Sheng felt that something was off. For some reason, after seeing that Purple Sun Sect disciple's reaction, he had felt deeply uneasy. Before he could figure out why—

The man suddenly said something inexplicable. "Hm, it's a little early, but it'll do."

Eh? What did he mean? Zhao Sheng keenly caught the shift in the man's tone.

He was not the only clever person present. Lu Dayou likewise raised his head and studied the man with a puzzled gaze.

At that very moment, the scent in the air suddenly intensified.

"Watch out!"

Zhao Sheng abruptly bellowed. While the others were still at a loss, he suddenly leaned backward, pressing his body close to the ground as he flew straight back.

A fraction too late, a broad swath of scorching red light skimmed past the tip of his nose. Firewaves surged and burst forth, accompanied by an exceptionally choking, nose-searing "spicy" smell.

What followed was a succession of miserable screams, along with the unrestrained, maniacal laughter of that Purple Sun Sect disciple.

"Earth Lung Poison Flame! Be careful, he's not a Purple Sun Sect disciple—he's a demonic disciple of Earth Flame Palace!" That was Han Xuanwu's voice, accompanied by a series of explosions.

Zhao Sheng rolled again and sprang to the edge of the stone platform, hiding behind a chunk of rubble. At the same time, he swiftly swallowed several Detox Pills and activated the Turtle Breathing Technique, entering a state of Embryonic Breathing.

Even so, his head spun and his vision swam, and he felt sick enough to vomit.

Throughout it all, the screams never ceased.

When he looked up, he saw flames soaring into the sky and fiery figures fleeing in agony across the ground.

The bonfire had expanded more than tenfold, transforming into oily green Flame Beasts that rapidly pounced upon and slaughtered the people nearby.

Some who had been too close had already been burned into charred corpses. A few had not died immediately and were still struggling and shrieking on the ground, their faces black as charcoal, not a drop of blood flowing from them.

The one responsible for all this was that "Purple Sun Sect" disciple. His true identity was Fu Yanqing, a true transmission demonic disciple of Earth Flame Palace, at Qi Refining Great Perfection.

The man was laughing wildly without pause, flinging out clusters of Crimson Fireballs from his hands.

The moment the crimson fireballs struck something solid, they burst apart in rings of firewaves. The torrential firewaves billowed outward, and wherever they passed, the Herbs and Plants on the ground ignited without wind, swiftly forming patch after patch of crimson seas of fire.

More terrifying still, everyone's Spiritual Power seemed to have been shackled by something. They could wield less than a tenth of it, leaving them with virtually no strength to resist.

Han Xuanwu, however, was proficient in all manner of martial arts and still had the strength to flee about.

With light taps of his feet, his body abruptly changed direction. He dodged several whistling fireballs in succession, then leaped seven or eight zhang into the air, clearing the rolling firewaves.

As Fu Yanqing slaughtered people and set fires, he still found the leisure to turn toward Zhao Sheng and laugh. "You're quite alert. The moment I released the Spirit Shackling Powder, you noticed it. Luckily, I set up the formation in advance. Otherwise, you would've escaped."

What he had done—killing and impersonating a Purple Sun Sect disciple—absolutely could not be exposed. Otherwise, Purple Sun Sect would surely hunt him down and kill him.

If not to buy a few more Foundation Establishment Pills, he would never have taken such an enormous risk.

Zhao Sheng's brows shot up. This man was arrogant beyond measure.

Of course, Fu Yanqing truly had the capital to be arrogant. He had cultivated to Qi Refining Great Perfection before even reaching forty. In the Cultivation World, that absolutely placed him among the ranks of geniuses.

Seeing how calm Zhao Sheng remained, Fu Yanqing gave a sinister chuckle and suddenly shouted:

"Sever him!"

The instant his words fell, Zhao Sheng saw a Red Thread slash down from directly above his head.

Zhao Sheng's face changed drastically. He thrust both hands upward, and a three-foot-thick wall of true qi formed in an instant, blocking directly against the Red Thread.

Yet it was all in vain! The three-foot qi wall had no effect whatsoever. Like a hot knife through butter, it was effortlessly cut apart by the Red Thread.

The next second, however, there came a bang.

The Red Thread abruptly halted, then revealed itself as a Pale Red Sword.

A Round White Light Shield that had suddenly appeared took the killing blow in his stead.

The price was that the jade pendant in his hand cracked with a snap, several fissures spreading across it.

At the same time, all the screams and groans vanished. Other than Zhao Sheng and Han Xuanwu, every other Herb Gatherer had died at Fu Yanqing's hands.

Han Xuanwu swiftly fled to Zhao Sheng's side, both shocked and enraged. "Old Thief Gongsun, you've got more tricks up your sleeve than anyone—hurry and think of a way out! I absolutely can't die! My daughter is still waiting for me to come home!"

The murderer was still not satisfied. His eyes had turned crimson, and after sweeping over the two of them several times, his gaze finally locked onto Zhao Sheng's face.

"Hehe, how do you want to die?"

At that moment, Han Xuanwu suddenly leaped without a word into the void beyond the stone platform. Yet a blood-colored barrier abruptly surfaced along the platform's edge.

Though it looked like nothing more than a thin film of light, it was incomparably tough. In his panic, Han Xuanwu slammed headfirst into it and was instantly bounced back, crashing down sprawled on his back.

Idiot!

Zhao Sheng cursed furiously inside. If they could get out, he would have run long ago.

In the end, Han Xuanwu simply did not trust him. Unless he tried it himself, he would never give up.

Boom! Just as he was thinking that, seven or eight scarlet fireballs, blazing with terrifying heat, came smashing down toward Zhao Sheng's head.

Luckily, his movement technique was peerless; within ten zhang, he was practically teleporting.

After dodging the wave of attacks, Zhao Sheng's lungs felt scorched. Flames raged across the nearby ground, and even the stones were nearly melting.

He was running out of places to land.

Yet the greater threat was that pale-red flying sword. With its relentless attacks, the circular light shield rapidly dimmed, while cracks spread across the protective jade pendant.

Zhao Sheng had no idea how much longer it could hold.

But he understood that he had little time left.

"Fuck it, I'll fight you to the death!"

On the other side, Han Xuanwu had been chased into a corner with nowhere left to flee. In a rage, he pulled out a handful of Spell Talismans, poured his remaining Spiritual Power into them, and flung them out without a care.

Fireballs, ice arrows, golden blade-light—in an instant, more than a dozen first-tier Five Elements spells came crashing down upon Fu Yanqing.

Seeking investment.